December 2006
Chesapeake Bay - Cape Canaveral, USA
The first day of December saw us sitting out a strong North Westerly in Cambridge, Maryland on the Choptank River.
On the 2nd December we crossed Chesapeake Bay again.
Leaving Cambridge at 07.00 was hard going for the first three hours - straight into the remains of the strong NW'lys and a nasty short chop which almost stopped Gypsy Dancer in her track.
However once we'd cleared Cook Point we enjoyed an increasingly free reach down to Solomons Island (called just 'Solomons' by the locals) a short way into the Patuxent River, arriving at 15.00.
This is another very boaty place with marinas and private docks covering every foot of the waterfront and a number of protected creeks in which to anchor.
We chose Back Creek which, although it's a long way from the free dinghy dock in The Narrows, has the most swinging room.
From Solomons we sailed to Norfolk in 3 days via anchorages in Mill Creek and Fishing Bay.
We enjoyed some good downwind sailing in 15 - 20 knots with the NW'lys on the quarter. As the wind fell lighter and went more north it gave us the chance to try out the new whisker / spinnaker pole - it worked a treat.
Berthed in Waterside marina, we spent a day in Norfolk buying cruising guides and visiting USS Wisconsin one of the largest battleships ever built. Its a bit disappointing really as its not really a museum ship (it's still in commission and could be used again apparently) so you can only walk round the decks. All the interesting bits are hidden.
Set of down the Intracoastal Water Way (ICW) early on 6th and motored and motor-sailed down to a night at Coinjock Marina. We were hoping to mainly anchor in the ICW but sub-zero temperatures and shallow, tenuous anchorages made the marinas quite attractive.
The ICW is a combination of canals, rivers and sounds. Constant attention to course is critical, especially with GD's 6'-foot draft. The new chartplotter really earns its keep here as heading south into bright low sun spotting the well spaced channel markers in wide rivers and sounds can be a bit trying and the ICW is often shallow immediately outside the dredged channel. You also need to keep a good lookout for 'deadheads' (waterlogged trees that float just on or under the surface) as hitting one of these could do some damage.
For some strange reason best known to the US Army Corps of Engineers who maintain the ICW it is measured in statute miles not nautical miles with 'mile zero' being a red can buoy in the Elizabeth River near Waterside Marina in Norfolk, VA. Every 5 miles the distance from Norfolk is signed on a mile board.
From Coinjock we made it to Alligator River Marina where we woke up to frost and a free newspaper on deck.
A clear but very cold day took us, via the Alligator-Pungo Canal into the Pungo River and on to River Forest Marina at Belhaven on Pantego Creek. This marina has dilapidated looking docks with what seem to be shacks ashore. However what you're looking at is the rear of an early 19th C mansion which is now an inn. It has an attractive wood-paneled reception area, restaurant and bar. It was quite a surprise to be mixing it with the elegantly dressed ladies of a local church group out for a pre-Christmas jolly.
Another cold, clear night and an uncluttered horizon to the SE should mean that we get a good view of the Jupiter / Mars / Mercury conjunction just before sunrise tomorrow (10th).
Up before sunrise on 10th.
Cold and still and an excellent view of the conjunction with the three planets clearly visible in a clear sky changing from midnight blue to straw yellow as the sun rose at 07.09.
The next part of the ICW traverses a complicated section of rivers and cuts including Pungo River, Pamlico River, Goose Creek, a cut through to Bay River, Neuse River and into Adams Creek which links to Adams Canal. Some parts are picturesque and wooded. Other's are marshy and open.
51 miles of mainly motoring was enough. Tied up for the night at Sea Gate Marina on the Adams Canal at an unusually low tide with the depth gauge showing 0.1 feet in the entrance channel. Cheap stop where very friendly and helpful locals compensated for the indifferent dockmaster (think ZZ Top meets Millwall fan).
On 11th we motored the final 9 miles to Beaufort, NC where we anchored in Taylor's Creek opposite Beaufort town waterfront and later moved to a free mooring courtesy of Keith a local sailor. The weather's suddenly become a lot warmer - 60+ degrees this afternoon - at last!
A quick dingy ashore to check out the town for tomorrow and to find the Back Street bar, the nearest thing to an English pub I've seen in USA - quite convincing apart from beer in plastic 'glasses' - why do they spoil the carefully designed ambience like that - yuck!
Beaufort is another town of gift shops, clothing shops and restaurants. I did eventually manage to find a back-up anchor / cockpit light in a hardware shop on the edge of town.
The maritime museum contains the remains excavated from the wreck that is thought to be Queens Anne's Revenge - one of Blackbeard's ships, sunk in the early 18th century.
The exhibits include some interesting brass nautical instrument parts which makes you realise they'd have to be pretty skilled navigators to sail these shallow waters in square riggers with only early celestial nav equipment and techniques.
13th and 14th - waiting in Beaufort for favourable wind.
Had the novel experience on 13th of rowing the dinghy back through the middle of a pod of dolphins in the creek. It was fascinating to watch them playing (maybe fishing or mating) rolling and jumping all afternoon.
Finally left Beaufort on 16th. Good sailing for the first 7 hours on a relatively flat sea with dolphins playing in the bow-wave. Wind dropped and we motor-sailed the rest of the way via Masonboro Inlet to anchor behind Wrightsville Beach. Rowed ashore early the following day to have a quick look round and buy some provisions.
We left just after midday for the 158 mile sail via Cape Fear and on to Charleston. No wind meant a flat sea and no sailing. It's new moon so the sea was pitch black and the sky perfectly clear. Huge vista of stars made the night go quickly, even though its 12 hours long here.
The anchorage in Ashley River at Charleston was exposed and subject to strong currents so we didn't fancy rowing the dinghy ashore. I must buy an outboard!
Early on the 19th we left Charleston, mixing it in the dark with a large container ship in the channel - oops, remember to turn the VHF radio volume up next time!
Mainly motor sailing to Port Royal Inlet with a favourable current up the long approach channel to reach the ICW again. A mile down the ICW took us to Skull Creek Marina on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina - a resort island famous for golf, amongst other things. (Skull Creek - so called apparently because a hurricane came through in the 1850's and washed all the corpses out of the grave yards and into the creek - yuck!) Restocking and relaxing here today and moving on to Savannah, Georgia, tomorrow. Met a fellow cruiser at the marina who took me to the shop which was miles away and also swapped some DVD’s to renew my stock.
On Thursday 21 st we motored a few more miles along the ICW to New River where we anchored overnight to wait for the tide to be in our favour up the Savannah River. The following day we popped out into the river, chatted to a large container ship about our intended course and set off up the river totally mystified by the tide which was against us at 1 knot increasing to nearly 2 as we got nearer Savannah – ho hum! We tied up at the municipal dock in Savannah (which is on the true right bank – i.e. the left bank going up, and just before the ‘paddle-wheel’ tourist steamers. Immediately had to fend off the help offered by a local pan-handler, but he was not offensive.
The dock is right on a section of renovated old warehouses with lots of restaurants to choose from and free wifi from one of them that I could pick upon the boat – luxury! Savannah was very wet with almost constant rain, but not cold.
It felt like Christmas here as everyone was out doing their last-minute shopping. It’s an interesting town with a unique gird pattern and squares layout, superb gardens and trees and interesting architecture. Well worth as visit.
I made sure I got the tides right going back down the river and we were wafted along at 8 and 9 knots out of the inlet and back onto the Atlantic for the overnight 100 mile trip down to the next major inlet near Fernandina which is in Florida – at last!
The intention was to stay there over Christmas but the anchorage is very exposed and the town looks grim from the ICW – large industrial plants but apparently better once you are ashore - so we moved on 5 miles to South Amelia River and dropped anchor in a narrow side channel in the middle of a marsh. A few houses on Amelia island about a mile away to the east and nothing for miles around – a great place to spend Christmas.
Christmas Day morning was wet and very windy (I was glad I’d set two anchors as the swinging room is very limited) and about 10.30 a thunderstorm cell moved through. I was photographing the rain on the water and watched a lightening strike hit the island with an immediate explosive explosion of thunder that made me jump so much I fell down the companion way steps.
Spent the next hour cowering in the aft cabin which feels like the safest place on the boat in lightening storms (apart from in the oven which is too small for me and in any case holds the GPS’s!)
After the main storm passed the rest of the day was spent relaxing and cooking some good food.
Boxing Day was spent in the same place in still poor weather. We received a dinghy visit from another sailor, Bob Tomassetti, who had a house on the nearby island - he came aboard for tea and a chat and he presented us with freshly picked oranges and grapefruit from his garden, a newspaper and some very useful information about anchorages in the Bahamas - what a thoughtful chap!
On the 27 th we set of around 11.30 for the 165 mile overnight trip to Cape Canaveral. This was mainly motor-sailing until 06.00 the following morning when we were bowling along under full sail, close-hauled in a good south-easterly.
The lumpy conditions followed us all the way into Cape Canaveral Inlet which faced the wind. The inlet merges into the Canaveral Barge Canal. Passing through a bascule bridge and a lock brought us back to inland water’s and a few miles further on would take us to our chosen marina where we arrived at 14.30 after a 27 hour passage.
In one of those weird serendipitous coincidences as I prepped the boat for docking I was greeted by a shout from a nearby power boat. It was Rick who I’d last met at Loon Harbor on the Canadian shore of Lake Superior in August. He had no idea when or where we would arrive and on an off-chance had decided with his son to go to that marina for lunch and just happened to see us coming in as they left.
Rick kindly invited me to his house on Merritt Island to stay where I met his lovely wife Lizzie, and some of his friends and family, all of whom made me very welcome and to whom I am extremely grateful for the all their help and for letting me drive the two Jags!
During the 5 days I spent with Rick and Lizzie I visited the Kennedy Space Centre (fascinating and a bit awe-inspiring – a Mars landing by 2030/2032.) We ate some great food in local restaurants, visited St. Augustine (very interesting buildings) restocked the boat, did some maintenance and generally rested up. It felt odd to be off the boat for the first time since mid-June and sleeping in a bed with a shower as often as I wanted. New Year’s Eve was spent having a very enjoyable meal with Rick, Lizzie and their family.
Tomorrow a new year begins. Isn’t it great to have no idea where I’ll be a year from now?